title: Differential expression of metabolic genes essential for glucose and lipid metabolism in skeletal muscle from spinal cord injured subjects.
abstract: Skeletal muscle plays an important role in the regulation of energy homeostasis; therefore, the ability of skeletal muscle to adapt and alter metabolic gene expression in response to changes in physiological demands is critical for energy balance. Individuals with cervical spinal cord lesions are characterized by tetraplegia, impaired thermoregulation, and altered skeletal muscle morphology. We characterized skeletal muscle metabolic gene expression patterns, as well as protein content, in these individuals to assess the impact of spinal cord injury on critical determinants of skeletal muscle metabolism. Our results demonstrate that mRNA levels and protein expression of skeletal muscle genes essential for glucose storage are reduced, whereas expression of glycolytic genes is reciprocally increased in individuals with spinal cord injury. Furthermore, expression of genes essential for lipid oxidation is coordinately reduced in spinal cord injured subjects, consistent with a marked reduction of mitochondrial proteins. Thus spinal cord injury resulted in a profound and tightly coordinated change in skeletal muscle metabolic gene expression program that is associated with the aberrant metabolic features of the tissue.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Section for Integrative Physiology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Yun Chau
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Long
authors.forename: Emil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kostovski
authors.forename: Hanneke
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Boon
authors.forename: Nils
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hjeltnes
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Krook
authors.forename: Ulrika
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Widegren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009132:Muscles / Q000378:metabolism*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009124:Muscle Proteins; D005947:Glucose